Electric-railway system.



No. 868,911. PATENTED OCT. 22, 1907.

J. L. GROUSE. y ELECTRIC RAILWAY SYSTEM.

LPPLIOATION FILED DBO. 29,1904.)

INVENTOR a 4 @AQQUM v BY THE "0km: PETERS cm. WASHINGTON, n: c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN L. GROUSE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNORTO WESTINGHOUSE EL]? )TRIO & MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

ELECTRIC-BAILWAY SYSTEM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 22, 1907.

Application filed December 29,1904. Serial No. 238,840.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN L. Ono USE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Electric-Railway Systems, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relal es to electric railway systems, and particularly to systems which embody both trolley and third rail conductors, the trolley conductor being used in one or more sections of the system and the third rail conductor being used in the remainder of the system.

My invention has for its object to provide means for automatically cutting either the trolley or the third rail shoe into circuit and the other out of circuit in accordance with the service conditions of the system.

The single figure ol' the accompanying drawing illus trates, diagrammatically, a system embodying my invention.

The controlling system to which my present invention is applied and which is shown in the accompanying drawing is set forth and covered by patent No. 773,833, granted to George Westinghouse, November 1, 1904, upon a joint application tiled by him and L. M. Aspinwall, and relcrencc may therefore be had to that patent for any desired information as to structural and functional characteristics of the system that is not set forth herein.

Motors 1 and 2 are supplied with energy from a track rail 3 and either a trolley conductor 4 or a third rail 5, the connections of the armature and field magnet windings oi the said motors being controlled by a reversing switch 6 and the connections of the motors with reference to each other and the amounts of resistance in series therewith being controlled by electro-pneumatically operated switches 7. Operating magnet windings 8 and retaining magnet windings 9 for the valves of the switches 7 are supplied with energy from a battery 13, or from any other suitable source, and their circuits are initially governed by means of a manually-operated master switch 10 and are thereafter controlled by antomatic interlocking switches 11 which are actuated by main switches 7.

- Circuit-breakers l2 and 13 are provided in the circuits from the trolley conductor 4 and third rail conductor 5, respectively, the operations thereof being governed by means of magnet windings 14 and 15, respectively. The circnit-breakers l2 and 13 serve to operate interlocking switches 16 and 17, respectively.

Relay switches 18 and 19 are respectively provided with operating magnet windings 20 and 21, the former being connected in circuit when trolley 22 engages the trolley conductor 4, and the latter when the third rail shoe 23 engages the third rail conductor 5. Resistanccs 24 and 25 are connected in series with the windings 20 and 21, respectively, for the purpose of reducing the potentials applied to the terminals of those windings.

The switches 18 and 19 are normally maintained in the positions shown in the drawing by means of springs 25, the switch 18 being closed only when the winding 20 is energized, and the switch 19 being moved to and held in its lower position only when the winding 21 is energized.

Operating magnet windings 26 and 27 for switches 28 and 29 are respectively connected in circuit when the corresponding circuit-breakers 12 and 13 are closed, and when the current delivered to the motors and 2 is in excess of a predetermined amount, the switch 28 or the switch 29 opens and thereby causes the corresponding circuitbreaker to open.

When the circuitbreakers 1.2 and 13 are open, catches 30 are engaged by latches 31, which are held in latchingposition by springs 32 until the windings 33 are energized, and the latches are then withdrawn. A manually-operated switch 34 controls the circuits of the magnet windings 33.

An interlocking switch 35, which is operated by the reversing switch 6, prevents the supply of energy from the battery B to any of the relay operating devices just described until the reversing switch has been thrown to either its forward or its reverse position, according to the desired direction of motion of the car.

If the master switch 10 is moved to the position a and the trolley 22 engages the conductor 4, a circuit is established from the positive terminal of the battery B, through contact finger 36, drum segments 37 and 38 and contact finger 39 of the master switch 10, conductors 44, 4-5, 46 and 47, valve-operating magnet winding 8 of main switch 40, conductors 48 and 49, interlocking switches 16 and 17, and switches 29 and 28, to the negative terminal of the battery B, closure of the switch 40 being eiiocted by the operating magnet windings 8, when energized.

If the master switch 10 is moved to the position b, a circuit is established from the positive terminal of the battery B, through contact finger 36, drum segments 37 and 38 and contact finger 41 of the master switch 10, switch 42 and operating magnet winding 43 of the reversing switch 6', to the negative terminal of the battery B. The reversing switch 6 and the interlocking switch 35 are then thrown to the positions shown and a circuit is established from the positive terminal of the battery B, through the master switch 10, as before, interlocking switch 35, relay switch 19, operating magnet winding 14, interlocking switch 17, and switches 29 and 28, to the negative terminal of the battery B. Energizing of the winding 14 effects closure of the circuit-breaker 12 and the main circuit is then established through the motors 1 and 2 and the reversing breaker 13 is closed, the operating magnet winding 14 oi the circuit-breaker 12 cannot be energized because switch 6 from the trolley conductor 4 to the track rail l 3, it being deemed unnecessary to describe this circuit in detail in view of the previous reference to patent No. 773,833. At the same time the magnet winding 20 is energized and the relay switch 18 is closed, the circuit through the operating magnet winding 8 of the main switch 40 being thereby changed as soon as the interlocking switch 16 is opened, so that it passes through the relay switch 18 and switches 29 and 28 to the negative terminal of the battery.

If the third rail shoe 23 engages conductor 5 and the master switch 10 is moved to the position b, the magnet winding 21 is energized and operates the relay switch 19 so that its lower contact terminals are electrically connected and the operating magnet winding 15 of the circuit-breaker 13 is energized. After the circuitits circuit is interrupted by the opening of the interlocking switch 17.

It the shoe 23 should come into contact with the third rail 5 while the trolley 22 is still in engagement with the conductor 4, the switch 19 will be moved to its lower position, thereby breaking the circuit through the valve-operating magnet winding 14 and causing the circuit-breaker 12 to open. The winding 15 will be immediately energized and the circuit-breaker 13 will be closed. It follows, therefore, that both of the circuit-breakers 12 and 13 cannot be closed simultaneously, since the circuits of the corresponding valveoperating magnet windings 14 and 15 are governed by the relay switch 19 so that both magnet windings cannot be simultaneously energized.

The number and relative arrangement of parts may be varied from what is shown without departing from my invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with,an electrical translating device and two independent supply conductors from which said device may derive energy, of automatic circuit-breakers in said circuits, and relay and interlocking switches for preventing simultaneous closure of said circuit-breakers.

2. The combination with an electrical translating device and two separate circuits from which said device may derive energy, of automatic circuitbreakers in said circuits, and magnets and relay switches for effecting automatic closure 01 the one or the other circuit-breaker in accordance with the operating connection of the translating dc vice to the one or the other circuit.

The combination with an electrical translating device and two circuits from which said device may derive en ergy, of automatic circuitbreakers in said circuits, magnets and relay switches for effecting closure of the circuitbreaker in the circuit which is being utilized, and means for preventing simultaneous closure of the other circuit breaker.

4. The combination with one or more electrical trans iating devices and two circuits from which said devices derive energy, of circuitbreakers in said circuits, automatic means for effecting closure of the circuit-breaker in the circuit which is being utilized, means for preventing simultaneous closure of the other circuit-breaker, and

means for causing said eircuitbreakers to open when more than a predetermined amount of current traverses the corresponding circuits.

5. In an electric railway system, the combination with trolley and third rail circuits, of an automatic circuitbreaker in each of said circuits, and means for preventing simultaneous closure 01 both of said circuit-breakers.

G. In an electric railway system, the combination with motors and trolley and third rail circuits therefor, of circuit-breakers in said circuits and relay switches which control the operation of the circuit-breakers.

7, In an electric railway system, the combination with motors and trolley and third rail circuits therefor, of circuit-breal ers in said circuits, operating magnet windings therefor, and relay switches which control the circuits of the operating magnet windings.

8. In an electric railway system, the combination with motors and trolley and third rail circuits therefor, of circuit-breakers in said circuits, operating magnet windings therefor, relay switches which control the circuits of the operating magnet windings, and interlocking syvitehes op erated by the relay switches for preventing simultaneous closure of the circuit-breakers.

9. In an electric railway system, the combination with motors and trolley and third rail circuits therefor, of circuit-breakers in said circuits, operating magnet windings therefor, relay switches governing the circuits thereof, and operating magnet windings for said switches which are connected between the conductors of the respective circuits.

10. In an electric railway system, the combination with motors and trolley and third rail circuits therefor, of circuit-breakers in said circuits, operating magnet windings therefor, relay switches governing the circuits thereof, operating magnet windings for said switches which are connected between the conductors of the respective circuits, and interlocking switches operated by the relay switches for preventing simultaneous closure of the circuit-breakers.

11. In an electric railway system, the combination with an electrically propelled vehicle, a track, trolley and third rail conductors, a trolley and a third rail shoe to engage respectively therewith, of a trolley switch and a third rail switch and automatically operating means for effecting closure of the respective switches according as the trolley or the third rail shoe engages its corresponding conductor.

12. In an electric railway system, the combination with an electrically propelled vehicle, a track, and trolley and third rail conductors, of automatically operating means for preventing both of said conductors from supplying energy to said vehicle simultaneously.

13. In an electric railway system, the combination with an electrically propelled vehicle, a track, and trolley and third rail conductors, of an automatic circuit-brexer corresponding to each of said conductors and means for caus ing closure of the circuit-breaker corresponding to the conductor which is in service.

14. In an electric railway system, the combination with an electrically propelled vehicle, a track, and trolley and third rail conductors, of an automatic circuit-breaker corresponding to each of said conductors, means for causing closure of the circuit-breaker corresponding to the conductor which is in service, and means for preventing simultaneous closure of said circuit-breakers.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this lGth day of December 1904.

JOHN L. cnousn.

Witnesses WM. II. CArnn, Gnonen I-I. SrocKnmnen. 

